Mosaic of the Lower Baptistry Chapel

According to Michele Piccirillo, this mosaic floor of a baptistry chapel discovered underneath the mosaics of the Chapel of the Martyr Theodore (part of the cathedral complex), is the earliest known work of Byzantine Madaba.

It bears an inscription that says: “At the time of the most beloved by God and most pious Bishop Cyrus was embellished and constructed the holy photisterion." On stylistic grounds, it can be dated to the first decade of the 6th century.

The floor mosaic shows a pair of rams and gazelles facing each other framed by a vine. On the upper register, a bull faces a lion.